Recurrent Stumbling (Across You)
by chemicalflashes
Summary: Twelve moments in the lives of Red Blood Cell AE-3803 and White Blood Cell U-1146.


**Author's Note:** Some spoilers for the manga are present!

 _Recurrent Stumbling (Across You)_

 **01**

He was walking through the bone marrow when he heard a high pitched scream. Holy world, it nearly shook his nucleus! That was no playground scream of losing...that was something horrid. He pulled out his knife.

Myelocyte U-1146 hurried.

He turned around the corridor and the sight nearly stopped the translation going on in his cytosol; a wee erythroblast had been cornered by a huge _Pseudomonas aeroginosa_. The bacterium was bullying her mercilessly. Something happened and the erythroblast started running with all of the energy in her. U-1146 didn't waste any time and jumped right into the fray.

"You have got some nerve attacking a blood cell in this body, you germ!" he stated courageously while suddenly feeling not courageous at all. This was no drill. This was a real, ugly bacterium in front of them and it was out to get them. But then he glanced behind for a brief moment and saw the erythroblast he had jumped in to protect.

She was on her knees and she looked really small. That revived his guts.

"Antigen sighted!" he screamed and poised his knife ready to strike.

"And who are you?" _Pseudomonas_ asked.

"A bacterium doesn't deserve to know my name."

"Hm, are you a myelocyte? A baby White Blood Cell? You," he paused, "mean to kill me?"

"That's right! I'm gonna beat you up!"

He leapt and attacked the germ, but it proved to be useless. The bacterium slapped him hard and he stumbled backwards on his feet. He was seeing stars until he felt small hands on his back and then he heard the words, "No, don't die!"

"I'll spare your life if you hand over that erythroblast. What do you say?" he heard his enemy say.

Never, he thought.

"Go to hell, I would never do that!" he screamed. "White Blood Cells protect other cells even if it costs them their lives. I'm going to be a great White Blood Cell someday!"

Before the bacterium could say anything an adult neutrophil came dashing in. "That's the spirit, young myelocyte!" he said before jumping in to fight.

Of course, he emerged victorious.

And then, the children cried.

When she asked him if she will ever see him again, he wanted to say yes very badly, but then he replied with a reluctant maybe.

 **02**

The Red Blood Cell he met during the Pneumonococcal infection seemed oddly familiar, like a distant memory. She was clearly new to her job, given her proclivity to lose her way and basically having zero navigational sense.

He wondered if the little erythroblast he had tried to save all that time ago ever went on to become a Red Blood Cell or not.  
Her last words to him had been, "Will we meet again?" and he can't help but remember that erythroblast.

Anyway, meeting her would be a miracle after all this time, he thought. After all, what are the odds?

 **03**

The White Blood Cell — a neutrophil, actually, who saved her today was so different from the rest of the White Blood Cells. Sure, he was bloodthirsty on the sight of a pathogen, but then again, all of them were.

What made him different was the quite, reserved demeanour he kept around himself. Usually the lot of immune cells tended to be boisterous as heck. But not him, apparently. She really wanted to meet him again, just because he was...mysterious.

 **04**

Red Blood Cell met him again.

He saved her. Again.

Of course, the platelets had been the real heroes of the moment, but he had been _her_ hero.

She could not help but feel gratitude.

 **05**

White Blood Cell found himself thinking a lot about her these days.

"Lovelorn?" his almost-sister, Eosinophil asked and put a hand on his shoulder.

He glared at her and swatted her hand away.

 **06**

She thought about White Blood Cell a lot. He was always there to help her and save her.

For some reason, he reminded her of someone.

She wondered if the brave myelocyte who had tried to save her all that time ago ever went on to become a White Blood Cell or not.

During her first meeting with him, her last words to him had been, "Will we meet again?" and she can't help but remember that myelocyte. But, oh hell, she could not even remember his face properly.

Anyway, meeting him would be a miracle after all this time, she thought. After all, what are the odds?

 **07**

Yay, she completed her job on her own today! Properly!  
She couldn't wait to tell White Blood Cell about it. He always listened. She hoped she could find him. And so, she searched.

 **08**

The punch that Killer T Cell gave him did not hit as hard as he had expected it to be. Maybe it was because his conviction that all cells were supposed to be friends was really strong. Maybe it was because his emotions were getting the better of him.

As he hit the floor, he thought of Red Blood Cell.

 **09**

When she found him, he was wounded.

"Oh it was Killer T — No a random assailant, I mean a bacterium," he said and brushed off her concern. He didn't need her to know the fights that went on between the immune cells; they were already known as a little too… _intense_.

"But what's this about doing your job on your own?" he said instead. He had heard the noises of showering admiration from afar.

"Oh, White Blood Cell! You'll never believe what happened! I finally did my job all on my own today."

He smiled. "I want to hear all about it. All the work you guys do."  
And so they chatted for a long time and she told him everything.

 **10**

He led her to the muscle tissues deep in the arm that day. It was her chosen place to lie in rest until she felt like she had regained enough energy to do work again.

She rested with a big, goofy smile that day and when her senior asked her if something was wrong, she said, "No. Everything's, in fact, oh so right."

 **11**

She knew she wasn't supposed to be here, but she also knew that when arteries became capillaries and those capillaries became veins, the lines between lymph fluid and blood was thin. Yes, she had been paying attention to Macrophage in the bone marrow back in her childhood.

So, AE-3803 sneaked into the interstitial fluid in the tissues in hopes of finding him.

She did find him.

He was lying down with his eyes closed.

She couldn't resist the urge.

Red Blood Cell bent down and removed the hair falling on his eyes to see his full face properly.

And then, she kissed his forehead and went away with the speed Red Blood Cells were known to possess.

 **12**

U-1146 dreamt that someone had kissed him. He woke up and touched his forehead.


End file.
